BART strike looms as governor asked to intervene

A passenger runs to board a Bay Area Rapid Transit train at Rockridge BART station in Oakland, Calif., on Friday, June 28, 2013. BART unions give 72-hour notice of a strike on Monday July 1, 2013 as Bay Area residents need to consider alternatives plans. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)

OAKLAND -- With the first BART labor shutdown in more than 15 years looming for Monday morning, there's one person in California who could single-handedly stop the commute chaos that could cripple the Bay Area: Gov. Jerry Brown.

Just hours after declaring they would walk off the job if they don't reach a contract by Sunday night's deadline, union workers have asked the governor to delay a shutdown for two months to allow both sides to continue hammering out a deal.

The Brown administration declined to comment Friday and is awaiting the outcome of the negotiations this weekend.

But if the bargaining were unsuccessful during the next two months, a delay would put the BART strike in the cross hairs of Labor Day weekend, when the Bay Bridge is set to shut down for the installation and opening of the new east span, a nightmarish scenario BART management and Caltrans are eager to avoid.

Both sides returned to the bargaining table Friday and were optimistic they can reach a settlement, but they appeared to remain far apart on key issues such as wages and health care benefits.

"We are not at impasse, and we believe that we could reach a fair agreement," says the strike confirmation letter from the local Service Employees International Union, which joined the local Amalgamated Transit Union. "However, BART's continued refusal to bargain in good faith leaves us with no option but to strike in protest."

An analysis of BART payroll data shows the average BART employee -- union and nonunion -- made about $83,157 in gross pay in 2012, up from $80,588 in 2010. Including benefits and other perks, the average cost for BART for each employee was $116,309 last year, up from $110,017 in 2010. Both figures are the highest in the Bay Area among big transit agencies -- more than San Francisco Muni, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and AC Transit.

Last year, 938 BART employees, including managers and executives, made at least $100,000 in gross pay, and 19 workers made at least $200,000. BART workers point to highly paid managers as the real source of the agency's rising payroll.

Employee benefits for which BART currently picks up the tab include free dental care and transit passes for all workers. But the biggest concerns for BART management are pension and health care costs. BART workers currently pay nothing toward their retirement plans and a flat $92 monthly fee toward medical coverage, regardless of how many dependents they have, a leading reason why BART's total cost per employee is the highest among Bay Area transit agencies.

But it's not just BART embroiled in labor strife. AC Transit workers, who run the third-most-used transit service in the Bay Area, had also threatened to strike Monday and were expected to negotiate through the wee hours of the weekend as their contract also expires late Sunday. And city of Oakland employees, whose contract also ends Sunday, declared a one-day strike for Monday.

BART, for its part, was set to hold a board of directors meeting late Friday to discuss the labor talks in closed session and remains "hopeful" that a deal will be reached.

"We will pay attention to (the strike threat), but we certainly expect to be back at the table negotiating, as they said, to avoid this," BART spokesman Rick Rice said.

If a work stoppage is called, some of BART's 200,000 daily roundtrip riders plan to push through and drive alone, others intend to carpool, many will try other transit options -- and some are left wondering what they'll do.

Shelley Sun, of Danville, a daily BART commuter, said she is not looking forward to driving to her software job in San Francisco if the trains aren't running: "It's going to take a long time to get across the Bay Bridge," she said. "It will be very disruptive."

SolTrans extended service

If BART workers strike on Sunday, the Solano County Transit (SolTrans) will extend Route 80 bus service beyond its usual end at the El Cerrito Del Norte BART station to the Transbay Terminal in San Francisco (Beale and Howard streets) during peak commute hours, or from 5 to 8 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Details will be posted Sunday evening at www.soltransride.com.